Traffic Light Parking Sensor

[woodee]

So my wife has had some issues parking her car over the years….apparently a wall in front of her does not indicate it is time to stop the vehicle. Over the years I’ve tried several parking aids, and currently I use rubber parking blocks (she used to run over the 2x4’s). The only problem is they sometimes slide, especially with the new epoxy floor. I don’t want to permanently mount them as I need to move them out of the way for sweeping and to use the squeegee during winter months with snow melt.

I’ve looked at the various parking sensors and I really like Park Daddy, but I thought it would be cool to wire up an old traffic light as a parking sensor. I’ve found some very cool examples where people have done this on youtube, but it requires some type of Arduino computer programming and specialized parts. I’m wondering if I can just hack one of the First Alert or similar sensors to work with some led’s in the traffic light body. Has anyone tried this or something similar??

 

[jhelrey]

Take her drivers license away...

 

[kd3pc]

I would be more concerned about the wife and her health..something is not registering correctly.

Take her license and keys until the Dr can be visited, for her safety and others. Running over a 2x4 should be noticeable to every driver, and felt by the driver.

What is her explanation for not parking uneventfully?

 

[JRC3]

I just use a simple weighted string. But you got me looking and I found this one. Has a floor light too.

I back in and this would be perfect.

 

[TheShrine]

I just use a simple weighted string. But you got me looking and I found this one. Has a floor light too.

I back in and this would be perfect.

He didn't mention that she is color blind to.

 

[SGKent]

I would be concerned about letting her drive if this behavior shows up other places when driving. If is a panic situation which some people get then let her park outside and you pull the car in. My other half scraped the side of the car the first time she pulled it into the garage. Fortunately it was just the trim strip, a tiny bit on the door, and it touched up with my paintless dent guy. Since then she leaves the car outside because she gets overwhelmed with the garage. She is fine everywhere else. I don't mind pulling the car in at the end of the day.

Running over a 2x4 is pretty serious out of control.

 

[Garett]

Use construction adhesive on the bottom of the rubber parking blocks you have. Not exactly permanent. Or drill and install some threaded inserts for bolts into the concrete floor and make them removable.

 

[k1rodeoboater]

Low tech solution is a eye screw with a sting and a tennis ball hung from the ceiling to bump the windshield. Tends to work better than any of those sensors and less annoying than something secured to the floor.

 

[Docbentley]

Install permanently a couple of those cement curbs seen in parking lots everywhere. You can easily sweep and squeegee around them. If she drives over 2X4 then these may solve the problem.
A light is not going to work- she’s going to go until the car is stopped by something.

 

[woodee]

Been with her for over 20 years now, so if there was an easy fix to her driving skills I'd have done it by now. The way our new garage is set up it forces her to slow down so it hasn't been an in awhile. I just wanted to do a traffic light (with the parking blocks still) because I thought it would be cool.

 

[vavet]

I got my wife one of Striker parking sensors last year. It works well, but there is a minimum distance- 6 inches I think. You can set it so that you’re within an inch. If the car and garage are really tight, then look elsewhere.
The thing goes through batteries pretty fast too. It takes 4 AA batteries.

 

[woodee]

He didn't mention that she is color blind to.

Yes, I want to take something like that and rewire it for an old traffic light housing

 

[ard]

How's this for an 'out of the box' solution....

New 'necklace' for the wife.

Mount the remote on the wall. Bumper hits the button...it'll be the last time she touches the wall.

 

[woodee]

As a side note, a few years ago she bought a new car with the back up camera, and front an rear sensors. Day #1 she leaves the house and 30 seconds later she walks back in with a weird look. I said, "why are you back already?" She said, "I backed out of the garage and into a car parked in the street." Dumbfounded, I asked, "why didn't you STOP when you heard the sensors beeping?" She said, "I thought it was the seat belt alarm because I hadn't buckled yet."

Yes this is what I'm dealing with, for better or worse.

 

[woodee]

How's this for an 'out of the box' solution....

New 'necklace' for the wife.

Mount the remote on the wall. Bumper hits the button...it'll be the last time she touches the wall.

The dog would be happy!

 

[woodee]

Something just like this
https://blog.mattsatorius.com/technology/alto-arduino-parking-assistant/

 

[hd54kh]

I was going the same route with the traffic light (inlaws garage) but sensors for the three positions was getting too complicated.

Simple set up:

Sign shop make a coroplast (sp) STOP sign what ever size you prefer.

Place an eye bolt or small pulley right above where the windshield position is safely inside.

Run a string/cable to the top of overhead door.

When door is closed the string pulls the sign up out of the way, when the door opens it lowers the sign into view.

Took a bit of fanagling to get the sign travel correct but it works.

Terry

 

[Innovate1]

I used the tennis ball on a string. If you are handy with electronics or know someone who is you could use an Arduino board to run a distance sensor and control the lights. Google found a bunch of them. Here's a couple:

https://maker.pro/arduino/projects/diy-arduino-based-car-parking-assistant

https://create.arduino.cc/projecthub/shaddow1201/garage-parking-stop-light-04ac5d

 

[58Yeoman]

I bought a ball/string setup at a garage sale, and copied it to the other door, also. It had the measurements in the instructions, but they were a little off, but easy to correct. When I drive my truck in, the tennis ball hits the w/s right at the left wiper. She backs her car in, so the ball hits the rear window. Close the doors, and the balls go up to the ceiling. Easy-peasy.

 

[RVDan]

How does she afford insurance if she hits another car every time she goes shopping?

Drill your concrete and drill the stop blocks. Drop a piece of rebar in the holes and drop the block on top. They’ll pull out when you want a flat floor.

 

[MattRMagnum]

My grandfather had a giant, brightly colored fishing float on a string that hit right at eye-level for my grandmother. Same thing as the tennis ball idea, but slightly different visual cue. That said: why not just bar her from parking in the garage? If she isn't willing to fix a problem, then she should understand that has ramifications. That's kind of life 101.

 

[rayra]

Use construction adhesive on the bottom of the rubber parking blocks you have. Not exactly permanent. Or drill and install some threaded inserts for bolts into the concrete floor and make them removable.

don't even need that. Just a couple dabs of 100% silicone will do the job. And be readily removable.


/ and IN for the inevitable panic reaction by the OP's wife to a red light leads to her mistakenly mashing the accelerator.

 

[Lassen Forge]

We had the opposite problem, with the in-law's cars (big Cadillac and bigger Lincoln) there was at least one instance on each car where the insurance paid for a new trunk lid for when the door came down on it (in one instance it was their housekeeper, the other was one of their kids...). We rigged a tennis ball so when the ball hit the windshield, the door would clear the trunk...

It worked fine until their daughter-in-law was backing into the garage (because unless I'm working on something, I *always* back into garages), And, um, well, er...

When mom finally traded in the Lincoln for a DeVille, we had to move the tennis ball... It was a sad day for me (I loved that old boat), but it decided it liked eating electrical systems over and over...

 

[ford33]

I feel for you and think a physical barrier is your best option here. If she cannot stop before hitting a wall, a light is not going to be effective.

I do agree with the others. She needs to see a doctor and stop driving immediately. She is a danger to herself and others on the road. To run into a wall multiple times and a parked car indicates a spatial relationship issue or maybe lack of attention. Either case should take her off the road for everyone's safety until the issue is resolved.

 

[GRB]

This kind of issue with my (now ex) wife was the first indication of serious mental issues that eventually cost me just about everything. She nearly killed herself, then a few years after brain surgery when she was much better, nearly killed our son and a bunch of others. I can't imagine how much better it would be to have suspected the causes back then because it sneaks up on you.
Regardless, she should not be driving a car, period. The liability when she kills someone can be staggering.

 

[LS6 Tommy]

I kept the old Milton driveway alert from one of the gas stations I worked at when they demo'd it and use it in my garage to tell me where to stop.

Tommy

 

[Kevin54]

Am I the only one thinking that the wife needs to really learn how to drive? If you can't stop before you hit **** in front of you, get the hell out from behind the wheel.

 

[Lynden]

Instead of a tennis ball you could try a 2" diameter PVC bar hanging horizontally from two cables from the garage ceiling. The bar would be about 5 feet long and be positioned so that it hits near the front of the hood, slides toward the windshield and ends up halfway up the windshield at the desired stopping location. Wrap 2" wide strips of foam around the bar and cover each strip with red 3M reflective tape. Alarm bars can be purchased.

https://www.alvaradomfg.com/low-clearance-alarm-bar-watchman/

As others have said, I think a medical evaluation should be scheduled. She might have a mild form of narcolepsy or something similar.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/narcolepsy-and-driving_n_5784ff36e4b0e05f05236324?guccounter=1

AARP has a driver evaluation program.

https://www.aarp.org/auto/driver-safety/info-2013/formal-driving-assessment.html

 

[nh_yota]

Sounds like my mom years ago. I rigged up the tennis ball but it still didn't stop her from bumping into the stuff piled in front of the car. Her excuse? "I know when to stop when I hit the stuff in front of the car".

 

[orangeblood]

have you considered the chamberlain laser parking assist?

 

[Jaja]

How does she afford insurance if she hits another car every time she goes shopping?

Drill your concrete and drill the stop blocks. Drop a piece of rebar in the holes and drop the block on top. They’ll pull out when you want a flat floor.

I know you asked for electronic solutions but I think this is the solution:

https://www.globalindustrial.com/p/...MIltOo2OXw4gIVDCCtBh1VPwioEAQYAiABEgJ8EfD_BwE

Like mentioned by Dan, use the rebar spike and it's removable.

 

[GirchyGirchy]

I use the cheap bags of sand. They don't slide too easily with the car but are relatively easy to slide out of the way when cleaning/using the space.

 

[mjeff87]

Years ago, we bought my mother this little low-tech stop sign doodad. It was a gag gift, and she never used it but I took it with me after she passed. I have it set up on the wife's side of the garage, and it works perfectly (although it can easily be driven over). It takes 2 button cell batteries, and when you touch the "stick" part the sign has flashing LED lights in it. Batteries tend to last about 6 months, depending on how often it gets hit and activated

https://www.walmart.com/ip/WalterDr...MIuYygpe_w4gIVSl8NCh2C0ASoEAQYGyABEgIE6fD_BwE

 

[like2wheel]

Maybe one of those nets they use after the shut down area of a drag strip.

 

[DHCrocks]

I've been using this since 2012 and it still works.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001VJZOBO/?tag=atomicindus08-20

I don't have a plug nearby so I just use the 4 AA batteries, seem to last over a year on a set.

 

[CJ7VFR]

I've been using this since 2012 and it still works.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001VJZOBO/?tag=atomicindus08-20

I don't have a plug nearby so I just use the 4 AA batteries, seem to last over a year on a set.

I have the original version of this, from the 1990's. The only difference is that the traffic light upper part is bigger, and shaped more like a real traffic light.

I bought it for my dad after he bought a new car for himself. The hood on the new car was longer and higher up than on his old car, and he could not judge the distance when he would enter the garage, and he would hit the back wall of the garage every time.

First he did the tennis ball on a string hitting the windshield idea, and that worked, for a while. But he said he would like to have some kind of light to let him know when he was "getting close" to the wall.

That is when I found the Park Zone thing. I set it up for him, put the car where he said he would like the green light to come on at, letting him know he was getting close, and set the sensor.

He LOVED that thing! He never hit the back garage wall ever again. He said when he saw the green light it meant, in his words, "slow down jackass".

I know the OP said he wanted to try to set up an actual real traffic light for this, and that would make a neat project.

But you can buy the same basic thing, have it delivered to your house in a few days, and get it set up and in your garage working and hopefully helping your wife to not hit the wall anymore.

Jim

 

[dogdog]

Funny this post showed up... recently saw a tweet or IG... maybe you can copy the idea and glue some rubber chickens to the wall ..works for her, should work for your wife.

or this guy
https://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/9yejlm/no_need_for_parking_sensors_when_you_got_these/

 

[JRC3]

^
Haha, I would love to hear that as 12 of them went off at the same time.

 

[Falcon67]

Maybe

 

[bradpac]

if you have a place on either side of the car or side and front and mount diagonally, laser eyes to trigger a relay to turn on the light would be cheap and easy to wire. If not a proximity type sensor wired to a relay to the traffic light would also work. You can probably find it all on amazon or ebay

Sounds like a cool idea.